Archduke Eugen of Austria

Archduke Eugen of Austria (21 May 1863-30 December 1954) was an Archduke of Austria and an Austro-Hungarian general during World War I. He also served as Hochmeister of the Teutonic Order from 1894 to 1923, succeeding Archduke Wilhelm Franz of Austria and preceding Norbert Klein.

Biography
Eugen von Habsburg was born in Gross-Seelowitz, Moravia, Austrian Empire (present-day Zidlochovice, Czech Republic) on 21 May 1863, the son of Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria and the grandson of the famed Archduke Charles. At the age of 14, he joined a Tyrolean Kaiserjaeger regiment, and he became a Lieutenant in 1877. In 1885, he was assigned to the General Staff, and he rapidly rose through the ranks. He was given command of the XIV Army Corps in 1900 and was promoted to General der Kavallerie in 1901. Eugen retired from the military in 1911, ostensibly due to health reasons, but he immediately reported for active duty when World War I broke out in 1914.

In December 1914, Archduke Eugen replaced Oskar Potiorek as commander of the Austro-Hungarian Army in the Balkans, and, on 24 May 1915, he was promoted to Colonel-General and given command of the southwestern front against Italy. In the spring of 1916, he took command of an army group, launching the Trentino Offensive against the Royal Italian Army and withdrawing only due to the concurrent Brusilov Offensive. He was promoted to Field Marshal on 23 November 1916, and, while he was one of the commanders at the successful Battle of Caporetto in 1917, he was blamed for his forces' lack of coordination and was relieved of command on 18 December; Emperor Charles I of Austria assumed personal command of the Austro-Hungarian southwestern front. Following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, Eugen went into exile in Switzerland, and he also resigned as Hochmeister of the Teutonic Order in 1923. He died in Merano, South Tyrol, Italy in 1954 at the age of 91.